I'm thinking that the one and only thing I don't like is the length of that rear brake cable housing at the back - too long with too much 'hump'.

Agreed. It will be changed tomorrow night when I work on the lights and other sundry bits and pieces. It was put on more or less to get the bike finished and on the road on Saturday.

I should point out that the wheels are temporary. The front one is a Shimano dynohub wheelset that I bought sometime ago as a training wheel in the winter. There is a 32H SON dynohub waiting to be built into either a Velocity Aerohead or a Mavic Open Pro rim. The rear is an old Velocity Aerohead wheel from my touring bike before I fitted Velocity Dyads to it. The hub needs a little bit of love and care. There is an Ultegra hub waiting for a matching 32H rim to replace it.

The only thing i get here in NY is constant road crap.... gums up everything on a bike that moves. pain in the arse to scrub out. I wish it was just mud :)

I've done 290 km on the titanium now, over 3 rides (two 30s, and a 230). It's fairly comfortable, although needs some fit adjustments. The front end feels a bit "soft" or maybe "mushy", possibly a little bit swimmy. I'm thinking it might just be the steel fork, titanium bicycle combination and I may need to get used to that. It's VERY quiet ... even much of the shifting is quiet.

Something else I've noticed is that it climbs well. Yesterday my legs and lungs were struggling to get me up the hills, but the bicycle seemed to handle them just fine ... and faster than usual.

love it!

regarding the "mushy" feel - maybe consider bumping up the tire pressure in the front tire now that you have a little more flexy fork than you may be used to. this may balance it out a little? what do you typically run at?

i know that i can totally feel a difference in the front end of my bike when the tire pressure is varied...

I noticed the change when I went Ti last year. I wouldn't call it soft, more like smooth. My first rides were using the same wheels/pressures as my old bike (Caad 9) using the same roads. Previously, where I had a clunk over a bit of road, now I had a thunk. Rattles became rumbles. The precision was still there for turning, just less road vibration. FYI I have a racy carbon front fork, so I don't feel like the front is mushy.

No news on your old bike?

It could be any number of factors contributing to this feeling.

The steel fork on a Ti frame can be quite soft, but in your frame size that shouldn't be an issue.

Perhaps the issue is that the fork rake of the Surly steel unit is different than the bike was designed to use. You mentioned, Machka, that the fork that normally ships with your frame has a really steep rake, while the Surly fork is a bit more offset. That can certainly affect the handling, making things feel "swimmy" or vague.

The suggestion of higher tire pressure is a good one. I'd also look into riding a stiffer wheel in the front - perhaps you can demo some wheels from your LBS to see what works best.

Still, the bike looks like it'll be quite good for you in the long run.

how did it perform on the big ride?

I think Velocity has a wide range of rim colors. Plus you'd be adding Australian content.

Rake isn't the same as curve. Rake is the perpendicular distance from the front wheel axis to the steering axis. Curvature is the tightness of the fork bend and a tightly curved fork blade can look deceptively like a fork with a lot of rake. More curvature often results in improved ride quality, and more rake results in different handling characteristics than low rake.

Coming along nicely :)

The new rims have arrived - DT Swiss. We've got the hubs and just need the spokes now for Rowan to build the wheels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...detail/?page=4


I've done another about 350 km on the bicycle now and have gotten used to the handling. I'm still working out a few minor fit issues.

should the seat post clamp bolt be fore or aft?

If it is facing forward it will get less gunk in it that is thrown up from the back wheel. My CAAD9 came like this.

My titanium is making some more progress! :) Rowan just finished building the wheels ... they roll better than what I had on there before, and they are shiny!! :D

And my new green Brooks B17 with titanium rails arrived today and has just been installed. I don't have a photo of it yet. I think the plan is to take the new saddle for a spin tomorrow.


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/...552b158b_z.jpg


And I've added a few more randem titanium photos here ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7623874386934/

Nice looking bike. How much did the frame cost? I can't tell from the picture, but is that a sloping top tube or horizontal? What size frame is it? Just wondering because my g.f. rides about the same size and I was thinking of getting her a titanium bike for her b-day.

The frame (a Hasa) was about $1000, I think, I'd have to double check with Rowan. The top tube slopes ever-so-slightly, which I like .... I prefer a sloping top tube. And it is a 50 cm (I'm 5'5.5" with a 31" inseam). Rowan has been sourcing all the parts and building it up for me over the past few months.

Neat. Did you get the frame in Oz? Never heard of them before. Was it $1000 AUD? Online store?

Rowan and I did a ride after work on our single bicycles. It was the first ride on my brand new green Brooks B-17 saddle with titanium rails!! :D Not bad at all!! :) :) And looks good too.

Some info about the bicycle.

We got the frame from a place called Cycling Deal: http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/ for the $1,150 AUD as seen on this page of that site: http://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/shoppi.../frames/road1/

It is a HASA frame, which is Taiwanese ... and yes, I got it here in Oz. We saw it online, and then went to a Cycling Deal factory outlet in Melbourne to pick it up.

The wheels are DT Swiss, 32 hole, on an ultegra rear hub, and SON dynohub (front), and the spoke pattern is 3 cross ... designed for durability.

And it now has a beautiful green Brooks B-17 with titanium rails and copper rivets. :)


I am eyeing the Deda jaguar green bar tape, but so far the only place I've been able to find it is PBK and we've never ordered from there. I'm also debating about green leather bar tape (Brooks), but wow is that ever expensive and the way I go through bar tape, I'm not sure it is worth it.

Next, I need to decide if I like the handlebar height so we can cut down the steerer tube, and we need to paint the front fork. The painting of the front fork will not occur till my Giant arrives and I have another bicycle to ride.

Nice. Would really like to see how your homemade paintjob turns out.

It will be just the forks ... I'm leaving the frame titanium. Rowan has painted bicycles before and has done a really nice job of it. He actually has an article on his website about painting bicycles. So I figure I'm in good hands with that. :)

how many forks?

The new saddle ... :)


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/...c102eb25_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/...f73c1072_z.jpg

Another B17, isn't it? Just got my first one and am having some trouble getting used to the hardness of the leather, even though it's already less painful than the original saddle that was on my bike...
Though, you might have been best off ordering the Brooks bartape as well. I've been hearing that Brooks bartape lasts longer than cheaper brands and non-leather stuff.

That is a generator hub you have in front there, isn't it? How are you liking it so far?